Page 143 - Advanced Biblical Backgrounds Student Textbook

into Scripture. The map above shows the seven regions of Phyrgia, Pysdia, Cappadocia, Lycaonia, Cilicia,
Lycia, and Pamphylia. 176

Religion in Cyprus and Asia Minor:

Cyprus:
The island of Cyprus was a mixture of cultures and therefore it was also filled with different religions.
The Greeks worshipped their deities. The Romans
worshipped theirs. The Jewish population on the
island worshipped Yahweh and met in synagogues
(Acts 13:5). Paul’s purpose in traveling to Cyprus was
to preach to Jews, but it reached the Gentiles as well.
Multiple temples or worship sites have been found in
Cyprus including sites dedicated to the worship of
Apollo, Zeus, Aphrodite, Venus, and others. This
photo shows the remains of the temple of Zeus at
Salamis. 177 Venus was said to have come ashore on a
beach in Cyprus.

Asia Minor:
Asia Minor was the location of multiple deities such as the
worship of Men the moon god and Cybele the goddess of
fertility. Diana was a goddess of the Ephesians. They had a
temple to her that was a wonder of the ancient world. The
statue on the left is a 2 Century image of Diana. 178
nd

Asia Minor is also the location where the Imperial Cult began.
To not come under the displeasure of the emperor, the King of
Pergamum dedicated a temple to the city of Rome. Vos tells
us that “Soon other principalities followed suit. Alabanda in
Caria founded a temple to the Goddess Roma and established
a festival in her honor. Magnesia celebrated a festival in honor
of the Goddess Roma, with tragedies, comedies, and farces.
4
Pergamum and Ephesus also established temples to Roma
early on…Other regions quickly followed the example of Asia,
with the ruler cult expanding to other places in Asia Minor,
Macedonia, and as far away as Britain only six years after the

176 Vos, Howard Frederic. Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Manners & Customs: How the People of the Bible Really
Lived. Nashville, TN: T. Nelson Publishers, 1999. 509.
177 Image. Temple of Zeus. http://www.whatson-
northcyprus.com/interest/famagusta/salamis/zeus.htm#:~:text=Salamis%2C%20Near%20Famagusta%2C
%20North%20Cyprus,-
The%20temple%20of&text=Over%20the%20next%20two%20hundred,are%20from%20this%20Roman%2
0period.
178 Statuette of Diana of Ephesus. http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/9786/unknown-maker-statuette-
of-diana-of-ephesos-roman-2nd-century-ad/?dz=#b4d93d89b1a736e8af28c33bdc42d249b843d274

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